Robin Houwman has been aiming at a constantly moving target. 

The Second Judicial Circuit's presiding judge has had to adjust how the Minnehaha and Lincoln County courthouses operate multiple times in the last few weeks based on the ever-changing guidelines and information surrounding COVID-19. 

And she's already planned for the possibility of having to adjust again. 

In the last few weeks, traffic into the courthouse has halved, going from more than 2,000 people entering the Minnehaha County courthouse a day to less than 1,000. Judges are hearing between 25 and 50% of the normal caseload, and it's unknown when they'll be able to hold jury trials again. 

Houwman's first standing order came in mid-March, and it limited who could enter the courthouse. Nobody who traveled from a country with "widespread" infection, people with any of the tell-tale symptoms or anyone under 10 could enter the courthouse. 

Attorneys were encouraged to reschedule court dates when appropriate, and video appearance capabilities were tripled in the last few weeks. Once-crowded first appearance court hearings were split into multiple sessions, and inmates from the jail were brought to the courthouse in smaller groups. 

This week, after the CDC changed its guidelines and said face masks could be helpful in preventing the spread of the virus, Houwman issued a standing order requiring members of the public to wear face masks. 

"We have to keep the courts open," Houwman said. "We can’t close our doors, but we’ve got to do it in a way that’s safe. Not just in a way that’s safe for the public and attorneys, but for my staff, as well."

Courts must stay open

Houwman has had more of a variety of court hearings the last few weeks than ever before. 

She's had entire hearings of remote appearances. One attorney on Zoom. A defendant on ITV. Another attorney on a different video application. She's even held an adoption hearing over FaceTime, a bittersweet event, as it's one of the few times a judge gets to oversee a joyful proceeding. 

On any other Thursday morning, a line of people going to a court appearance, looking to pay a fine, hoping to ask a question of the clerk's office or visiting a probation officer could be through the front doors. But last Thursday, few people entered, and those that did kept their distance from others. Some waited outside courtrooms because there were already 10 members of the public inside. One scolded others for coming in with a cough.

Houwman's been keeping an eye on jurisdictions in the more impacted states, and thinks she has a few more options to make more limitations before using the "pretty extreme power" to limit courthouse entry to those only with court appearances. She's been on the prowl for someone to screen patrons at the door, but it's been a tough sell, as she can't offer pay or personal protective equipment to do so. 

"I'll follow recommendations of our health department, locally, and in Pierre, and what the CDC says, but I hope we don’t have to do that," Houwman said. 

She's aware of the criticisms: why isn't the courthouse closing? She echoed South Dakota Chief Justice David Gilbertson: the courts must stay open. 

"If we were to close today, what is the decision point you say it’s safe to open? Next week? July?" she said. "In the interim, you have criminal defendants being arrested who have to have a bond hearing by law within 48 hours. There are people, say, in domestic situations who might be abused and need a protection order. I don’t think we could say we’re closed, come back in a couple months or come back next week."

There have been a number of divorce proceedings, too, she said, involving parents who have disagreements on how to manage the family during the coronavirus pandemic's peaks. One parent may be quarantining with the kids and doesn't think the other parent would adhere to their stricter practices. 

"There are simply cases that need to be heard," she said. 

A different system on the other side

If there's a silver lining to the quick changes, it's a learning experience. 

Actions the courts were considering anyway, such as a new cite and release program aimed at booking fewer people into jail, were put to the test sooner than expected. Law enforcement agencies encouraged officers to issue citations when appropriate to avoid putting more people through the jail. That was a program local courts were considering as part of a MacArthur Safety and Justice Challenge grant.

The changes have quickly shown how much of court can be done remotely. For instance, all transfer orders from state prisons were canceled, and inmates have been appearing via video, a change Houwman said she could see being a permanent one moving forward. It saves inmates time: for some it could take a week away from regular treatment and programming to travel to court. The county wouldn't have to pay thousands in transporting inmates. 

Gilbertson expects a different system on the other side of COVID-19.

"I don’t think the system that we will have after this is over will be the same as it was before," Gilbertson said earlier this month. "We can learn from our experiences and learn from this pandemic and make a system that is a better one, more responsible to the public and do what the law and citizens expect us to do."


Read or Share this story: